Category: journal

Journal: A Record of Experiences, Ideas & Reflections Kept Regularly

 My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. (Colossians 2:6-7 The Message)

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On a monthly basis, a group of tender hearted women meet after church. We journal in community. Our faithful mentor, Mary Ann, asks God for a prompt or devotion to prime our conversation with God and each other. Each time we meet, we marvel at how God tailors the topic to our current needs.

Today was no different. Mary Ann pulled out photocopies of an article from her Insights for Living newsletter. Chuck Swindoll reflected on “What Journaling Can Do For You.” (You can read it here.)

We started reading the article and conversing over it, commenting on how timely, and encouraging his thoughts were regarding the discipline of keeping a journal.

After reading the article, we each furiously scribbled our reflections about what journaling meant to us. We arrived with various concerns on our minds, but this respite from the daily grind gave us time and space to reflect on the spiritual act of writing.

I started out this way:

What can journaling do for me? It’s a place, a practice, a playground, a personal space, a retreat with God, a sorting out time for thoughts, ideas and emotions. I can go back and read and recall conversations that I’ve had with God. It shows me God’s goodness and faithfulness. I can write Scriptures, praises, confessions, thanksgivings and ask for things. I can listen with pen in hand.

I continued to write about how my journal gives me space to plan and consult God about His desires for me. I thanked Him for the journaling group at our church and other journalers I know, like Lynn Morrissey, Kelly Greer and Dawn Paoletta and the RJD ladies. I wrote down a couple quotes from the article by Chuck Swindoll.

“I want to keep a journal because it is an intimate conversation with God.”

“Journaling is worth the discipline it takes to cultivate the reward of intimacy with the Almighty.”

“I want that [intimacy] for you. Deep roots. Journaling will help make that happen.”

Besides having a great record of my spiritual journey, much of the time God clarifies His love and purposes for me through the written conversation.

By taking the time to write with my journaling companions, I came away with a renewed vision for my blogging schedule. (I thrive on variety. Notice the new theme on this blog, that’s me needing something new and different to inspire me. While journaling today, a new schedule surfaced for my blog posts.)

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So with the unveiling of my new look, I wanted to introduce you to the new schedule and topics du jour.

Monday will be a Sabbath day for me, so no blog post.

Tuesday will be getting back to my roots; a “Defining Moments” devotion. (The word “root” may be the theme for a few weeks.)

Wednesday will be a link to my souldare blog, where I will be posting creative, artsy inspiration.

Thursday will remain Thrilling Guest Thursday and I will be looking for guest contributors to add to the weekly schedule.

Friday will be dedicated to the topic of journaling (which may include guest contributors, prompts, tips and/or links to inspiring articles about journaling.) On the first Friday of the month, of course, I will be posting with the Random Journal Day ladies.

I was going to pursue hosting an online book group for Bonnie Gray’s, Finding Whitespace, but feel I need to put that idea on hold for now. (I still highly reccomend reading her book, and may include some of her prompts on Fridays.)

I like trying new things. I hope you will join in by following, reading, commenting or even guest posting.

If you have any thoughts, feel free to comment or email me at kelrohlf@souldare.com

Here’s to living the life we know God has given us!

 

Posted on by kelrohlf 4

Correspondence: A Direct Relationship To or With

Then He who sat on the throne said,
“Behold, I make all things new.” 
And He said to me, 
“Write, for these words are true and faithful.” 
(Revelation 21:5 NKJV)


God is in the process of making all things new. This was such an important concept, He directed John to write it down, letting us know that God’s word is faithful and true. A crucial aspect of our relationship with God is reading Scriptures. He uses correspondence to communicate with us about His relationship with all of creation.

The Bible doesn’t specifically say whether anyone kept a diary or journal, but several times God invites His prophets and scribes to write down a message. I believe writing things down can transform us. So, I keep a journal. And I find this practice one of the most beneficial means of connecting with God. 

Not everyone embraces this practice, yet I think writing your prayers of various kinds, your responses to God’s word and even questions that you ponder are great ways to experience God’s presence. Another benefit of a journal is having a written account of your journey with God.

Pam Farrel explains how this practice enhanced her quiet times:

I remember the encouragement to to close down the windows  of responsibility of my life just like we close down the windows on our computer programs. As I slow down . . . I then find I have better reception to what God is saying. Sometimes I do this by freewriting in my journal, logging random thoughts as they enter my mind. I record turns of phrases, poems or emotions as I need to release them from the confines of my heart. I find that if I close down my frenzied activity, I have much I want to journal back to him!

©Pam Farrel from 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time (IVP). For more devotional books by Pam http://www.Love-wise.com



If you find it hard to journal, why not just start with Dear Jesus . . . or Hello! Write a short note to God or lavish Him with a love letter written in long hand or type Him a missal on your computer. God loves to hear from us whether it’s through mental, verbal or written expression.
What benefits have you experienced while keeping a journal? Have you ever thought of the Bible as God’s journal? If so, how would thinking of the Bible in this way effect
 the way you read it?
Linking up with Random Journal Day
Posted on by kelrohlf 6

Season of Joy

 
He grants the desires of those who fear him;
He hears their cries for help
and rescues them.
(Psalm 145:19 NLT)
 
 
 
 
On Easter Sunday, we gathered around my mom’s picnic table feasting on the spread placed before us. Afterwards, I gave the nieces and nephews tote bags for them to keep their jammies and bedtime books safe and in one place. Patrick proclaimed himself a hobo, and the three little ones paraded around the yard with their “hobo” bags. I don’t remember telling them about my hobo honeymoon Lenten journey, but it made me smile that they wanted to be hobos.
 
Then Loryn, the youngest, surprised me with a presentation and a gift she made for me. She ran in the house and came back with her hands behind her back. She said something like:
 
First: I love you. Second: You’re the best aunt and so are all my other aunts. Third: This is a gift for Easter.
 
She handed me a scrap of notebook paper with words scrawled in her own hand, with one correction made by her mom.
 
I read it out loud to all present, and barely could keep from choking back tears as God loved me in words from the pen of a child. (I was touched by her desire to record her worship experience with pen and paper.)
 
 
 
 
She wrote:
 
Today I am going to church.
Day 1: Alive  
God is always with you.
You can hare (hear) God.
God loves you.
God is always in your hearts.
 
As I read the sentence, “You can hare (hear) God,” it pierced my heart, because earlier that morning I was doubting my ability to hear. Later my sister told me that was the exact question she and Loryn were discussing at church. Loryn knew God heard her, but she wondered if we could hear God. Her mom assured her that we can hear God, so Loryn wrote it down, affirming her new found truth.
 
The other message that seemed directed to my heart was; “Day 1: Alive.” After these past forty days of observing the fast of Lent, I sensed that in her simple way of keeping track of the first day in her journal and the title of the sermon, she hit on another truth. Easter Sunday is Day 1. We can keep counting on the aliveness of Jesus each day. Alleluia!
 
 
Day 2: Alive! Jesus lives and I am glad to be alive!
 
And for those following the church calendar, I was pleased to be reminded that Easter is a season, not just one Sunday. I look forward to the continued feasting which lasts fifty days, until Pentecost. Grace, grace, God’s grace!
 
 
Posted on by kelrohlf 3

In This City



For this world is not our home; we are looking forward to our city in heaven,
which is yet to come.
(Hebrews 13:14 NLT)

 

I took the Metrolink to our fair city of St. Louis today. It was an expirement of sorts, a hometown adventure. I was seeking inspiration away from my usual surroundings.

I am not a city girl and I am no longer a country girl. I am a just another suburbanite looking for adventure and glitz in the city. I am a writer, and I have come to realize that as a writer, much of my life is spent in the imagination.

As some of my friends can attest, I come up with these crazy, romantic ideas, like becoming a world traveller in my own city or starting a hiking club or designing a “Bible as Literature” book club. I have a lot of ideas, not that all of them pan out

For my latest adventure, I am recreating the atmopshere of A Writer’s Paris, here in St. Louis. I mean, we do have some French roots, thus our name, St. Louis, from the Louisana Purchase and all that. In Paris, people go to the train stations to people watch and enjoy art, why not see if I could do the same here?

I was a little giddy, wondering what or who I would encounter. In light of my hobo honeymoon, I chose to go down to Union Station, our famous train depot and home to Union Station Hotel. I hadn’t been in a while, so I was pleasantly surprised to find the food court still open and a few people milling around. Mostly locals and some college basketball fans– this weekend the city is hosting Arch Madness. I did  find a few people to watch and very little art, except for the train memorabilia and the architecture in the hotel lobby.

For lunch, I sat at a cafe table in the sunny atrium. I ate my sandwich, while trying to scribble in my journal. I mostly wrote about how I didn’t like my new journal or my new pen, and kept fighting the urge to just go home and be comfortable in my blue thinking chair.




Since I was getting restless, I checked my map for the location of the newly renovated Central Library, then I walked over to check it out. There were some tourists on Market Street walking toward the Arch and a few folks sitting on the benches in Keener Park Plaza.

The difference between St. Louis and other cities that I have visited is the people. Downtown St. Louis is sparsely populated. It feels more like walking through a deserted town, than the cosmopolitan feel of New York City and Chicago. It just lacks volume. Hardly any cars, so you feel foolish waiting to cross the street. The people who are out and about look warily at each other. I found myself mumbling to myself and looking at the skyline. Do people do this in Paris?

Inside the library was quiet, too. A beautiful building with stained glass windows, marble staircases and dark mahogeny tables blended with some modern rooms and seating areas. A potential place for undistracted writing.

But before I could find a writing spot, I noticed on the ornate wall clock that it was 2:10pm, so I quickly peeked around some more rooms and then headed back to the Union Station Metrolink. My surburban sensibility didn’t want to get caught in rush hour traffic on 70 west.

All in all it was a good day: out in the sunshine, people watching and riding the Metrolink. (For $4.50 you can take a roundtrip to many locations in the Greater St. Louis area. I was thinking it would be worth it just to sit on the train and read. Or eavesdrop on conversations, which I know is not polite, but who knows what great dialogue I might catch for a novel.)

Back in my SUV, I tuned into our local Christian station. I smiled as they were playing God of This City by Chris Tomlin.

Greater things
Have yet to come
And greater things
Are still to be done in this city
(Chris Tomlin)

 




 

Posted on by kelrohlf 4

Embryo: Something in an Early Stage of Development

 





I think a journal is like an embryo. It is the incubator for my writing life. The ideal place for thoughts and ideas to gestate, in their early stage of development.

 
Today I am linking up with Random Journal Day with Dawn and Susie over at Beneath the Surface: Breath of Faith.
 
Here’s the entry I randomly chose in a journal from 2010:

 


  
Tuesday, April 27, 2010 Morning. Rainy Day. Cold & Damp.

I woke up around 6am and decided to rouse myself from bed and begin the day. Right now the house is cluttered and dust laden. Barely enough time to make sure we have clean underwear. Final days of the semester mean I must make the most of every moment. Also preparing for trip . . . and keeping up with family and friends.
(That’s all I wrote in my journal that day.)
It’s strange when you go back to a journal entry looking for some seed of thought that might inspire greater things. In this entry, I notice that my life was very full. During that semester of life, I learned to accept that I had the normal amount of time, but it was divided amongst several different interests and pursuits.
Time to rest and reflect, even for a few lines in my journal. Barely time to do laundry. Never enough time or motivation to dust.
One key phrase in the paragraph, “making the most of every moment” gives a glimpse into my heart. Time and people are important to me. Cultivating relationships and nurturing the embryonic ideas that often generate from my ever active mind are seeds of who I am. See how a journal can reveal or affirm something about yourself!
I love keeping a journal. My journals are treasured, sacred places to process my days, to notice patterns and to discover truths about life. A journal can be a place of healing or a place to discover your purpose. Or even a springboard for blogging or other writing projects.
 
If you have a journal, and want to link up with Random Journal Day, the link is open all month.

Go now, write it on a tablet for them,
inscribe it on a scroll,
that for the days to come
it may be an everlasting witness.
(Isaiah 30:8 NIV)



Posted on by kelrohlf 11